A Simple Spell
by skysayzrawr
Summary: A demon's on the loose and Willow and the gang decide to do a spell to stop it- but something goes wrong. Can Buffy and her friends deal with the consequences? What about Spike and Angel? Post Season 7, Spuffy.
1. Sexual Tension, Begone

_I am a complete, total slave to my whims. I apologize to everybody who's been waiting on one or more of my other fics, I'll get to work on them right now- but I had a request to do this fic, and it's my first request, _ever_! So anywho, here it is! It takes place post-season seven of Buffy. A million thanks to aurico423 for requesting this, and I hope I can do your idea justice! Oh, and for those reading it, 'An Absence of Parker' will be updated tomorrow, I just need to work out a few last-minute kinks with chapter three. As always, please R&R! _

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"Willow, is there anything we can do?" Buffy Summers asked. Her best friend and witch, Willow Rosenberg, answered.

"Well, there's not much that can be done for a demon of this kind." she answered. Willow had always been very nervous, but now she was beginning to come into her own. Performing such a powerful spell that you reached realms of magic only gods had reached before tends to boost your self-esteem a good bit. "But there is one thing we can try…"

There was a pregnant pause. When Buffy realized her friend wasn't going to speak up on her own, she prompted her.

"What is it?" Buffy asked. "There has to be something we can do. I mean, this thing has been wreaking havoc up and down this country, and we need to find it and stop it already!"

"Indeed." a British voice chimed in- Giles. "This has been quite an evasive creature. Most demons of his kind would fight, but he- he seems to want something else, and quite frankly, that worries me."

"We could try a binding spell." Willow said. "It's pretty much our only option."

"Um…is that supposed to mean anything to the rest of us?" Xander said sheepishly, completing the quartet. Willow smiled gently at him. There had always been feelings between the two, and after Willow had broken up with Kennedy, and Xander started getting over the loss of Anya, they had decided to explore them. The two had soon realized that they had purely platonic feelings for one another now, and the tension had merely been left over from high school.

"Well," Willow explained. "It's where you trap something or somebody. You can bind them to stay in one spot, or keep one form, or anything like that. We might be able to get a location on him and cast a spell that would bind him; force him to stay there. There are lots of kinds and it's pretty tricky to get the right one, but I think we can do it."

"Well how soon can we get it done?" Xander asked, taking a sip of the coffee that had pretty much been his life force the past week or so. "I mean, can we do a locater spell and then quickly do a binding one when we get a position?"

"That's the idea!" Willow chirped brightly, trying to inject some positive energy into the gang. They'd all been up for over twenty-four hours, trying to catch the demon. Patience was starting to wear thin. "I need to gather the parts, and we all really need some sleep, so…say tomorrow afternoon? And however long it takes us to get to where I've frozen the demon."

"Perfect." Buffy said. "Let's all go get some sleep. It's-" Here Buffy consulted her watch. "Oh my god! It's already one thirty! Dawn must be worried sick. I need to go- I'll meet you all here at noon tomorrow okay?"

"Alright, bye!" Willow said as Giles rubbed his eyes and Xander packed his stuff.

They were all at Giles' house in England, and it had been almost six months since Sunnydale had collapsed. Buffy had come to Europe with the rest of the gang, and set up an agency to train the new Slayers that had been called. Though Willow, Xander, and Giles were all pretty famous in underworld circles, and Faith was bigger than ever, Buffy was a superstar. Not in the good way, though. Demons and vampires from every place on earth would try to find and kill her for the fame. Precautions had been taken, and decoys of Buffy had been set up all over the world as well- but demons still found her from time to time. So far, none of them had succeeded…but like Spike had told Buffy so many years ago, all it took was for one of them to have a good day.

Spike was a whole other thing. Buffy couldn't stand to hear his name, she would flip out and punch the nearest wall or inanimate object before rushing out of the room, usually sobbing. It was worse than it had ever been with Angel, and her friends were really getting worried. How long could she go before getting over the peroxided vampire? Surely a mourning period of six months and up had to be sufficient? After all, Buffy had told them all that she didn't love him; he was just convenient. She had just needed an escape, and he had provided it, for a short time, anyway. Sure, she might have been nice to him a little more when he'd gotten his soul. But that was different- he'd had his soul, and she still felt nothing towards him but animosity- albeit a bit dampened.

Buffy still hadn't told any of them about Spike's final moments, when she'd admitted that she'd loved him. He'd rejected her, and Buffy was sure that if she'd told her friends, they would all have said her that it was obvious she just felt guilty. That she just had to be nice before he died. And the thing that scared Buffy was that she might start to believe them, might start to think that she'd only held pity for the vampire instead of actual love. And that wasn't true. Buffy knew that, for certain. She did love him.

As Buffy drove through the streets of London, she mused to herself. She thought about how long it had taken to get used to the almost perpetual grey sky, but how quickly she had picked up driving a car. Buffy smiled and felt proud, even if she was all alone. She was behind the wheel of a car, and was no longer a threat to pedestrians! It was odd, as soon as the car was on the other side of the road, Buffy suddenly felt perfectly at ease driving. She'd soon gotten her license, as well as a green card. England was a good place for Buffy- for now. But there was something missing.

_Spike. _

Or maybe strip malls. Yes, it was definitely the malls that she was missing about California, Buffy scoffed to herself. There was a time when that would have actually been true; no longer. Stopping the car when she reached the flat she shared with Dawn, she got out and grabbed the bag of candy she'd gotten earlier as a surprise gift for her sister.

"Buffy!" Dawn cried as she got out of the chair she'd evidently been sleeping in. She must have been woken up when Buffy had come into the apartment. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Are you okay? I know there's not much to slay in London, and I was worried when it got so late…"

"I'm fine, Dawn." Buffy said tiredly. "I just need a little sleep is all. There's this big demon on the loose- I didn't want to worry you, but Willow's gonna do a spell tomorrow and we'll hopefully catch it. Here, I brought you some candy."

"Nice subject change, Buff." Dawn said, rolling her eyes but still taking the candy. "Ooh, Sherbert Fountains, my favorite!"

"Night, Dawn." Buffy said, trying hard to keep her eyes open as she hugged her sister and made her way to bed. Hopefully tomorrow, they would be able to catch the demon…


	2. Halter Tops Aren't Plausible

_Hey everyone! I just finished this chapter literally minutes ago and I _had_ to post it! I hope you like it (it took me ages to figure out the right latin translation for the spell), and thanks very much to smellslikecorruption, jaimee01, and Summer Silverquill for reviewing! Oh, and of course aurico423 for requesting the fic. Pleas, please, please R&R. Thanks! :)_

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"William." Buffy said, voice filled with joy. "I thought I'd never see you again!"

"How long has she been saying that?" Giles asked worriedly. Dawn frowned.

"She's been talking about him all morning. I was gonna wake her up, but she just seemed so _happy_." she answered, running a hand through her hair and going back to staring at her sister with concern.

"Stop it, Spike." Buffy said softly, voice slurred from being asleep. "I miss you."

"I rather think we ought to wake her up." Giles said, polishing his glasses a little. "I do hate to do it, but we must catch that demon today, and time is of the absolute necessity."

"You're right." Dawn said quietly. She went to her sister's side and shook her gently. "Buffy? Buffy, come on, you need to wake up now." Her eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry, and I miss him too, but you need to wake up and get on with your life."

"Hmmm…?" Buffy said as she awoke. "Spi- oh. Hi, you guys. Did I oversleep?"

"Very nearly." Giles responded. "You need to get up quickly so we can perform the spell with Willow."

"Right. Crap." Buffy said as she tripped over herself in her hurry to get out of bed. Looking in the mirror, she decided there was nothing to do about the grey bags that occupied the space under her eyes. "Giles, can you get breakfast started? I'll just take a quick shower and be down in ten minutes."

"Yes, alright." Giles answered kindly. "Come on, Dawn. Let's let Buffy get ready."

As she stumbled through her morning routine, gradually awaking more, Buffy found herself sighing. The only things she had to look forward to was when they could catch that demon and kick it's-

"AUGH!" Buffy spluttered.

"Sorry, Buffy!" Dawn called from the downstairs of their little flat. "I forgot to mention that I used up most of the hot water!"

Grumbling, Buffy got out of the shower and pulled on some clothes. She didn't even bother to look at what they were- it was only when she was downstairs and Giles looked at her strangely did she realize she was wearing a pair of blue yoga pants with a red dress shirt and pink flip-flops.

"Oops." she said sheepishly, heading back upstairs to change. "I guess my mind wasn't really there earlier."

Two minutes later, she flounced back downstairs in a pink sweater with a pair of cranberry sweats and some pink sneakers. Hey, London was cold- halter tops were not exactly plausible.

"Sorry." she said again, feeling some kind of need to apologize.

"Er, it's quite alright, Buffy." Giles said. "But we had best be on our way now, it's a quarter to noon and we ought to get on with the spell as quickly as possible."

"Right, right." Buffy said tiredly, running a hand through her hair and deciding to throw it up in a quick half-ponytail. "Let's go then, Giles. Dawn, you'll be okay at the agency while we're gone, right?"

"Yes, Buffy. The little sister can keep herself alive when surrounded by twenty Slayers. I'll be _fine_." Dawn said, smiling at her older sister despite the teasing. "I love you, Buff."

"Oh," Buffy blinked, trying not to act surprised about her sister's sudden declaration. "I love you too, Dawnie. More than anything else, and you know that, right?"

"Yeah." Dawn said, ducking her head and pushing her sister out the door. "Now get going, you two!"

Buffy couldn't help but sigh as she got into Giles' car.

"Buffy, are you sure you're-" Giles began, before being cut off, literally, by another car. He forgot what he was saying. "Wanker!"

"Giles!" Buffy giggled, a bit shocked. "We've barely pulled out, Dawn could probably hear you!"

"Sorry," Giles said sheepishly. "I guess Ripper came out a bit there."

"If only my mother was still here, I bet she'd _love _old Ripper coming back." Buffy quipped, intending the statement to be funny. Giles smiled fondly, but the mood in the car still sobered quickly.

"Come on," Giles said. "Let's not be late."

As they drove through the streets of London, back to Giles' house, Buffy looked out of the window, not really registering anything as it went by, just staring out at the endless grey skies and the herds of people everywhere. When the car stopped in front of her Watcher's house, she was jolted back into the present.

"What are we- oh, we're here." Buffy said, with a shake of her head to clear it. "Okay, let's go nab ourselves a demon!"

"Indeed." Giles commented dryly before letting a smile out. "Come on, we'll perform the spell and then hunt it down. Let's go."

Buffy ran into the house, Giles following at a considerably more respectable pace.

"Willow? Xander?" Buffy called out once she reached the library. "You here?"

"Oh hey, Buffy." Xander greeted her with a huge smile. "Come on into the study, Willow's got everything set up for the spells."

"Perfect." Buffy replied with a glint in her eye. It was about time she get some much needed demon-kicking relief.

"Buffy?" Willow called from the study. "Come here, I just need your help to move thi- oh, thanks."

"Where do you want it?" Buffy asked, having come in and picked up the rather large cauldron Willow was pointing to.

"Oh, uh- just over here," she said, gesturing to the countertop in front of her. Buffy set it down.

"Okay, everyone's here…let's get started." Willow brought out a map of England and set it down. "I've altered the locator spell so we don't need a personal item to find the demon."

Buffy smiled with relief. That hadn't even occurred to her, but she was glad Willow had thought ahead. Besides, Buffy didn't even know the spells- she'd always been the brawn rather than the brains.

Willow quickly had the locater spell done and hurried to do the binding spell. Before the burn mark on the map had even stopped smoldering, she had begun the second spell.

Willow grabbed a handful of various spices and threw them together in the cauldron. After a rather large bang, she talked in a deep voice. "Liga dæmonio in prisona Sua. Liga formam suam in vires. Sit ibi religatum æternum!"

Suddenly, she fainted. While everyone rushed over to Willow, Buffy felt an eerie feeling come over her. Shivering, she wondered what it could be.


	3. A Personal Prison

_Thanks again to Summer Silverquill, and to BellaVision, for reviewing! Sorry this chap wasn't up today, but I needed to get over my serious case of writers block. I achieved this by eating copious amounts of cheesy puffs combined with rasberry juice and watching half the second season of Cake Boss. Now I'm back, and on with the fic! Oh, and please please review! It makes me not get writer's block in the first place. ;)_

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"Willow?" Giles' distorted voice came through faintly.

"Giles?" Willow croaked. "Is that you? What happened? Did the spell go wrong?"

"Er, you fainted. It's me, Giles. You're the only one with any real magical expertise and we need to know what's happened with the spell, we've no idea."

"Right." Willow said vaguely, getting up. She checked again. "I fainted?"

"Yeah." Xander said, relieved that his friend was okay. Ever since Anya's death, he'd been more careful and worried than he used to be. "It was pretty scary. You did that weird chanty-thing and then dropped like a stone! You've only been out a few minutes."

"Oh, okay." Willow said, feeling stronger now. She hugged Xander and then walked over to the table where the spell had been laid out. Running her finger over the map of England, she concluded that the binding spell hadn't hit the demon she had intended it to…now she had to find out who it had gotten. "Uh- you guys, I have bad news…"

Quickly, she explained the situation. Xander looked worried, Giles looked apprehensive, and Buffy looked- well, Buffy actually looked pretty sick. Her complexion was beginning to go pale and wan, and beads of sweat were appearing on her waxy skin.

"Buffy?" Giles asked worriedly. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine." Buffy said, forcing a fake smile. She couldn't be weak now, they needed to catch the demon that had been killing scores of people every day. When Giles looked skeptical, she continued. "Really. I'm good. I must have just eaten something bad for breakfast."

"My eggs and bacon?" Giles asked, raising an eyebrow. At least he looked less worried now.

"Oh. Right. Uh, maybe it's something else." Buffy concluded. "But right now, it doesn't matter! There's a thing out there, killing innocent people every day, and we've got to stop it!" she shuddered to herself. "What a horrible creature. The worst thing to be."

Suddenly another wave of…that same unidentifiable feeling rushed over her. Doubling over with convulsions, Buffy fell to the floor and writhed around, turning more pale every second.

"Buffy?" Willow asked frantically, rushing to her friend's side. "What's wrong, what's wrong?"

Pulling Buffy into her arms, she couldn't do anything but look on helplessly as Buffy slowly disappeared into thin air.

"Buffy?" Xander asked, his one good eye nearly popping out of his head by itself. "Buffy, Buffy, Buffy, what happened? Willow, we've got to do something!"

"Snap out of it!" Willow yelled hysterically, slapping Xander across the face. He rubbed the mark carefully.

"Thanks…I think." he said, more calm now. "Willow, do you know what happened?"

"I do." Giles said harshly. "It was Willow's spell, it must have been! She finally does one spell that works and she gets cocky, forgetting how many others she's done that went horribly wrong!"

"Giles, I-" Willow began, but stopped when Giles gave her a look full of loathing.

"You could never handle the magicks, Willow. It was selfish of me to even condone this plan. I should have known you couldn't handle it."

With that, Giles stormed out of his study, slamming to door. After a minute, Willow and Xander heard a car's engine start up outside and tires screeching as it sped out of the driveway. Willow put her head in her hands and sobbed.

"Shh, Willow. It's okay." Xander said soothingly. "It'll be okay. You didn't mess up, something else went wrong, I know it. Don't blame yourself. We'll figure out how to get Buffy back."

"R-r-really?" Willow asked, aftershocks still quivering her body as she put her head on Xander's shoulder. "Thank y-you, Xander. You're b-being such a good f-friend."

"Hey, I don't have any superpowers, I do the best I can." he replied with a smile, patting Willow's back in a comforting way. "I'm sure we can figure out how to get Buffy back. Giles- Giles just needs time."

"You're right." Willow sighed, getting up. "Let's get to work."

Wherever she was, Buffy felt a strange sensation. Again. Her stomach ached and the back of her neck prickled the way it always did to alert her of any baddies in the vicinity. Only this time, it felt like somebody was karate chopping it instead of tickling it with a feather. Her arms hurt and her legs hurt, and even her feet hurt with a weird pain she hadn't gotten since she was nine and going through growth spurts.

Her arms felt like they were lengthening. Her legs felt like they were stretching. Her fingernails felt like they were growing until Buffy was sure she they must be claws by now. Her sense of time was off, and she couldn't see anything except for a crushing darkness that overwhelmed her from every direction.

She tried to talk, scream, get any voice out into the void. She failed. Twisting her body around and feeling it make no difference, Buffy wondered how long it had been since she'd felt herself dissolving out of Willow's arms. Seconds, minutes, hours, days, months- years? All were possibilities. It certainly felt like years since she had been trapped in this never-ending tunnel.

Her skin prickled and her chest felt confined, and everything about her _hurt_. Just as she was wondering what might become of her, drifting here endlessly, she spied something in the distance. It was a pinprick of light and though it was tiny, it was definitely there. As it slowly grew over the course of what felt like hours, but could have been anything, Buffy watched it curiously. It was not enough light to take in her surroundings, not enough light to look at herself clearly. But it was light. A light at the end of the tunnel. And it kept growing nearer.

Buffy was sure she was dying. And then, she wasn't.

"It's hopeless!" Willow sighed dejectedly. "I killed Buffy. Or something."

"Willow, that's just Giles' talk getting to you." Xander returned, patting his friend on the shoulder. "Don't worry! What happened with the locater spell? Didn't you say something about her not being dead?"

"Well-" Willow began, before biting her lip. "Well, she's alive. She has to be- it's just…her essence isn't entirely here."

"And that means…?" Xander asked, beginning to grow apprehensive.

"It could mean a lot of things." Willow said hastily. "I mean, it could mean that Buffy's passing through a dimensional plane, or been summoned somewhere else, or even that she's…a vampire."

"A _vampire_?" Xander retorted. "Very funny, Will. A vampire slayer! Well, a vampire-vampire slayer."

"Glad you're so amused." Willow commented dryly. "Now, can we please get back to Buffy and _her _crisis?"

"Right." Xander said, tone and expression taking on a sober appearance. "Let's keep going."


	4. A South West Direction

_Oh, wow. I'm sorry it's been a while since I updated- if you read my other fic (An Absence of Parker) then you know I've been sick with something the past couple of days. Anywho, thank you to Summer Silverquill for reviewing! I swear, you're the only constant reader/reviewer of the whole thing! Oh- except for the lovely aurico423, of course, who requested this fic in the first place. Here's the next chapter, hope it doesn't disappoint. Please review! :)_

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"Mmph?" Buffy mumbled. It was really all she could say.

"Are you okay, miss?" a worried voice asked from beside her. A gentle hand took hold of hers and helped her to sit up. "Miss? Do you speak English?"

"Yes." Buffy whispered. Her voice sounded strange, coming from her sore throat. Looking around as her vision sharpened, she saw a young man with sandy hair staring at her, still waiting. He must not have heard her weak murmur. She nodded again to clarify, and pointed to her throat to let him know she could barely speak.

"Oh, good. So many people here don't! I don't know what to do to help you, there's never been any hospitals here and-" he paused, taking a deep breath. "Well, you know- after what happened I doubt I could find a doctor anyway."

"The rogue band of bandits?" a young woman clarified, sidling up to the young man and placing a possessive arm around him. "The whole murdering spree and then the torching of the town? Don't you remember?"

Buffy looked at the couple with confused eyes as she held a hand to her head and looked around some more, taking in the faint orange glow from the other side of the trees surrounding her. The two exchanged worried glances and the woman put a hand to Buffy's head, forgetting all protectiveness towards her man.

"Oh my god!" the woman exclaimed, pulling her hand back with fright. "You're positively freezing! Honey, she could _die_!"

"Oh, Jesus!" the man swore, looking around in vain for any blankets or hot packs. Giving up, he took his jacket off and wrapped it around Buffy. "Here. It'll have to do until we get to the next village. If you think you can make it, we need to go now."

"I'm fine." Buffy began, eyes widening at her strange voice. She couldn't stop herself from continuing. "Where are we?"

"You don't know? You must have a concussion or something!" the man exclaimed. "My wife and I found you knocked out on the road just a minute ago as we were running, and-"

"Honey!" his wife cut in, an edge of hysteria in her voice. "We don't have time to get into it!" she looked at Buffy, who was still on the ground. "We're about sixty miles east of Iasi, just to the west of the Carpathian mountains in Romania. There's another village about three miles south-west of here, at the base of the mountains."

"R-romania?" Buffy asked, still wondering why her voice sounded so odd. "How could I be in Romania? The last time I checked, I was in London!"

"I don't know!" the man said exasperatedly. "Maybe somebody drugged you or something. But right now, we have _got_ to get to the next town, there's a gang of ruffians out there looking for people to rob, and most likely slaughter!"

"Crap!" Buffy said, shooting up.

"My sentiments exactly." the wife said, getting up with her.

And the three began to run in a south-west direction.

Meanwhile, in a west-west direction, in London, Willow and Xander pored over various books, still in Giles' house. The ex-librarian had yet to return from his temper-tantrum.

"Xander…" Willow said softly. When her friend's big brown eyes met hers, she continued. "What if Giles is right? What if it _is _all my fault?"

"Will, it's okay." Xander said kindly. "Even if you _did _do something, it's okay. We'll get Buffy back. We'll figure it out."

"Thanks, Xander." Willow sniffed, bringing her friend closer and hugging him.

"No problem. You're my best friend." Xander said, the big brown eyes looking straight into Willow's. "I'd do anything for you."

"Anything?" Willow asked, surprised when her voice hitched a little.

"Anything."

Willow slowly leaned forward and pressed her lips to his in a tentative kiss. Xander returned it, hugging her closer and simply being in the moment with her.

"I love you, Will." he said softly.

"I love you too, Xander." Willow replied, looking into his eyes and showing him that it was true. It was, Xander could see it in the depths of her own eyes.

After kissing her once more, Xander smiled and pulled away.

"Now we just have to find Buffy." he said.

"Yeah." Willow sighed, getting up. "I'll try the locater spell one more time."

In a seedy bar in the shadier part of the city, Giles sat on a stool and finished his third lager.

"Another, please." he slurred.

"No way, man." the bartender said, looking at him. "You're pissed already!"

"I got…" Giles paused, searching through his wallet. "I got a hundred. Gimme what I can get fer that."

"If you say so…" the bartender sighed as he took the crumpled bills and slid another beer to the Watcher.

As he went off to serve another drunk man in the corner, Darrell the barman could swear he heard the drunk man on about witchcraft and irresponsibility and…something about slaying? Shaking his head, he continued on his way. Some people really couldn't handle their alcohol.

"Thank god!" the young man shouted.

Buffy and her two companions had finally broken through the tree line. Buffy hadn't stopped for anything, and still didn't even know either of her fellow travelers' names. They sprinted towards the cabin they saw in the distance. A crowd of people- as much of a crowd as you can get in a tiny village in Romania, anyway- stood milling outside of its doorway.

"Phone?" the young man half-shouted towards the cabin and its inhabitants.

"Ceea ce?" one of them shouted back.

"That means 'what'." the young man said to Buffy hurriedly. He turned back towards the building as the trio grew nearer. "Phone! Do you have a phone in there?"

"No fone!" somebody called back in a thick accent. "Dere is no fone in dere."

"Damn!" the man cursed. "Why did we ever think _Romania _was a romantic honeymoon destination?"

"I don't know!" his wife said back. "But I'm really regretting it right about now- even _Sunnydale _was better than this, with all the weirdness and everything!"

"You're from Sunnydale?" Buffy asked with shock, also noting that her voice still sounded strange. And familiar…but why shouldn't it be familiar? It was her voice after all. Even if it didn't sound like it. "I'm from Sunnydale, too!"

"You are? Where-" the woman began, right before they reached the bonfire the villagers had going outside the cabin. The woman was cut off suddenly.

"_You_." a man hissed, looking directly at Buffy and raising his pitchfork.

If Buffy thought he was one lone crazy, she was dead wrong. A cry of "You!" went around the fire, each person turning to directly face her with hate-filled eyes.

"What did you do?" the young lady asked, pulling herself and her husband away from Buffy. "Why are they doing that?"

"_You_ killed dem all!" a large man shouted, lunging across the fire to tear at Buffy with his sharp nails, the only weapon he had. Buffy felt herself respond for a fight, but she knew it was no good. Her fight-or-flight response was also going off, and she knew this was one fight she could not win, even if she wanted to.

This time, the enemy wasn't kill-able. This time, the enemy was made up of men, women, and little children. She chose flight. Buffy whipped around and fled faster than she thought possible.

As she ran, she saw the young woman's face go white as a sheet and noted that she seemed paralyzed with fear. Behind her, an older-sounding woman screamed what were probably native curses at her. As the old woman's screeching rang in the night, Buffy ran back into the trees, not stopping for anything.

It was only hours later, when she reached a cave, the Buffy slumped to the ground and sobbed. Putting her hands to her face, she found that it felt odd. Different, somehow. She traced her fingers across it and was horrified to find ridges where her eyebrows ought to be. Hardly daring to believe it, Buffy let her fingers fall to her teeth.

There was no doubt about it. Buffy was a vampire.


	5. Saved From Mediocrity

_Hey, guys. I'm sorry this is posted so late and it's so short, but yesterday was my birthday and, joy of all joys, I got sick. Yup. All yesterday my roommate was home, throwing up. Now it's my turn, huzzah. So what with me being super-flu girl and having a pounding headache, I couldn't get much work done. Also, cause I have a lot more homework than I usually do for the next few weeks. So sorry if any of my updates are a little late, you have been warned! Okay, thanks again to aurico423 for requesting this fic, and thanks to BellaVision and hannahncakes for reviewing the last chapter. It means a lot to me, guys. How do you like the little twist I put on Buffy's new condition? No exactly what you were expecting, eh? Anyone care to guess who she has become? I think it's pretty obvious. Okay, bye bye for now! _

_Oh, and remember. Any spelling/grammar mistakes were most likely caused by my illness-induced stupor. :P_

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"N-n-no!" Buffy shouted. There was nobody around to hear her, of course. Her shouts echoed around the cave she was in. "N-n-no…n-n-o…n-o…o…"

Buffy drew her hands away from her mouth. She was beginning to realize things now that she wasn't disoriented or running for her life. Things that she couldn't believe she had missed before. Such as the fact that her hand wasn't _her_ hand. Inspecting it closely with horrified eyes, Buffy couldn't see how it could be hers. It was long and bony with sharp maroon nails.

Buffy wouldn't be caught dead with maroon nails.

Reaching up, she fingered her hair. It was in some kind of updo, and she's paid it no attention yet that night. Unfamiliar fingers shaking, she took out the pins holding it in place and allowed it to fall down into a curtain around her face. Shivering with both fear and worry- though strangely, not cold- she grabbed a strand and held it up to her eyes.

Black. Midnight black. That was the color of the hair on her head. Silent tears worked their way out of Buffy's eyes as she looked down and took in her body. It was slim, like hers was. It was, however, not proportioned the way hers was. Trailing her hands down this unfamiliar body, Buffy was shocked at how different everything felt. For the first time, she had curves. Real, genuine, curvy curves.

Blushing at the intimate way she was touching herself, she snatched her hands away from her body. Though there was no one there, she still felt embarrassed. Reaching her hand up to her head once again, she fingered her features, vamp face gone now. Small nose, like the one she should have, but with a bigger bottom to it. Thinner upper lip as opposed to her previously equally plump lips. Sharp, angular cheekbones she was sure she hadn't had before. Thicker, more coarse eyebrows and bigger eyes.

Buffy didn't know who's body she was in, but it sure as _hell_ wasn't hers. Standing up, she noted that she was taller than she used to be. She gave a half-hearted laugh as she wondered what Spike would have made of all this.

"Saved me from mediocrity, she did." Buffy quoted, trying and failing to mimic Spike's accent. "You'll love bein' a vampi-" She stopped when she heard the words repeated a thousand times in the echoing caverns around her.

She suddenly knew who's body she was in.

Back in London, the gang was having a breakthrough of their own.

"I'm sorry, Willow!" Giles had cried. "I just love Buffy so much, and if anything had happened to her…"

He'd come bursting in the door of his library, scaring the daylights out of Willow and Xander. He'd sobbed as he hugged Willow.

"I-It's okay, Giles." Willow said, patting his shoulder as he sobbed. He was obviously _really_ drunk. How he'd even gotten back to the house in one Giles-shaped piece was a mystery to her. "I get what you meant. I think you were right."

"B-but I wasn't!" he insisted, crying a bit again. "It's not your fault!"

"It kinda was…" Willow said softly, hugging Giles back. "I tried to see what went wrong. I could only figure out that something happened to the spell; it trapped Buffy instead of the demon. Like I said before, there are a lot of different kinds of these spells…I'm not sure which one hit her. She could be dead, or worse."

"Worse?" Giles echoed faintly, pulling away from Willow and slumping to the floor. "What could possibly be worse?"

"Well…" Willow said slowly. "She could have been…trapped. In a strange place, or something. These spells- well, these spells are tricky. The spell I did, roughly translated, means 'bind the demon up into its own prison'."

"Which means…?" Xander asked, confused and worried.

"Which means…" Willow said, sighing deeply. "Buffy would be trapped in her own equivalent of a prison. So, like, the worst thing she can think of…and that's probably where she is."

"Good lord, Willow. It _is_ your fault!" Giles cried, face hardening. "Sober me knew it! Drunk me…not so much. But it's alright- I'm not going to get mad again. We just need to con…concen…try to get Buffy out of there as soon as we can."

"Agreed!" Willow said whole-heartedly. "There's just one more thing…"

"What?" Giles asked tiredly, rubbing his head- he could already feel the hangover starting. Ugh.

"There's the rest of the spell to consider…"

"The rest of the spell?" Giles asked dangerously. He stopped rubbing his head. "Willow, what do you mean the _rest _of the spell?"

"Ummm…" Willow whimpered. "The part where the demon shall never escape his eternal prison?"


	6. Anybody But Hers

_Hey, you guys. Listen, I'm so sorry I haven't updated since...the 18th. Ah! The 18th? Dang. Sorry, sorry! I went to the premier of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (pt1) on Friday, and saw it in the IMAX, which- while being awesome- exposed me to tons of sicknesses in my fragile state after already overcoming something like the flu. So this weekend has just been peachy, me in bed eating top ramens and drinking tons of lemon tea trying to get over whatever the hell it is I caught from the theater. :P_

_Anyway, I know you guys have been really anxious to get another chapter, so here it is! I apologize for it being fairly short, but I needed to set some things up. If there are any mistakes, let me know! I don't have a beta and I usually run through my stuff several times just to catch errors, but I didn't have it in me this time. Okay, on with the thanks...hannahncakes, numberonebuffyfan, and YueLilianPotter for reviewing, and Aurico423 for requesting. Thank you muchly! (Oh, and if anyone would read a Harry Potter fic if I posted it, let me know, please! I have started on one, but be warned, I'm big with the Dramoine.) _

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"The what shall never _what_?" Xander asked Willow, his voice cracking. She'd hadn't told him that!

"An excellent question, Xander." Giles said stonily, seeming to have sobered up a good bit with the seriousness of the situation. "Willow, would you care to answer it?"

"Umm…" Willow began, unsure of how to tell them. After a moment, she threw caution to the winds and just blurted it out. "The demon, as in the Slayer in Buffy, most likely, shall never escape his eternal prison. So whatever happened to Buffy is almost certainly permanent."

"Oh." Giles said, air whooshing out of his lungs as he leaned backwards until he was sitting against his couch. "Oh, Willow."

"I know, Giles." Willow said tearily. "I should have checked the spells, I shouldn't have assume that-"

"Willow!" Xander interjected, coming over and giving her a hug. "There are a thousand and one different things all of us should or shouldn't have done. It's in the past now. We need to get to work on finding Buffy."

"Yes, I- I quite agree." Giles said rather faintly, one hand on his forehead. "Right…after I…get…some sleep."

Willow ruffled the old man's hair fondly before remembering their situation. Withdrawing her hand, she heaved a sigh, gave a quick kiss to Xander, and headed once more to the books. Perhaps another locator spell was in order…maybe Buffy could be tracked in whatever dimension she went to.

What the gang didn't know was that Buffy was already back on the earthly plane. 'The' being the operative word. If Willow only knew that she was as close- or far- as Romania!

"No." Buffy whispered. "No, no, no, _no_!"

She'd figured it out.

"Drusilla. Drusilla, Drusilla, Drusilla, oh my god I can't freaking be _DRUSILLA_!" she shouted, hearing the cave echo the words back to her a thousand times. She clutched her head with her hands. Only they weren't her hands, and it wasn't her head. It was that sneaky little dark insane psychopath of a vampire that Buffy couldn't even picture without loathing and revulsion. And now Buffy was stuck in her body.

She jumped to her feet in a mounting attack of blind panic. She went to run outside the cave, only to be trapped by the sun's rays. Hissing out a steady stream of very inventive curse words, she stormed back into the black pit. She spent a while debating what to do, pacing around in circles. When she came around to the mouth of the cave, she decided to try again. Slowly edging her hand outside of the shadows, she reeled backwards and crashed against the cave wall trying to put out the fire that had sprung up on her arm.

Hitting her head on the wall fiercely, she immediately dropped to the floor in a dead faint from the blow.

"Nothing." Willow said sadly. "I can't find Buffy anywhere. There's no signature from her body, or any active brain waves, or hormones from her, or...anything!"

"Willow, since when did magicks get so scienc-y?" Xander asked, a little confused by all the talk of body signatures and brain waves.

"Since I realized combining the two is a lot more effective than searching for…auras and stuff." Willow snorted. "This way I can find her anywhere, just by looking for her specific readings- which I'm not finding."

"So she's not in this dimension?" Xander concluded.

"It would appear not." Willow said. "My locater spell was infallible! She can't be anywhere on earth. Not _this_ earth, anyway."

"Infallible…right." Xander mumbled, just deciding to go with it. So Willow had messed up the binding spell- it was a hard one to do! Surely she knew her stuff with locating charms.

Giles was still asleep on the floor, snoring. Meanwhile, after dark in Romania, Buffy finally woke up.

"Crap." she uttered, looking around. She realized what had happened, she had been so intent on putting out the fire on her hand that she's knocked herself out on the cave's rocky walls. She looked down at her- Drusilla's- arm. At least the fire had put itself out when she'd went rushing backwards. Apparently this body still had the vampire qualities of the demon it belonged to, including weakness from the sun.

Did she need blood to survive in this form?

Shaking her head to clear away the dark thoughts, Buffy stood up shakily, leaving the cave now that there was none of that horrible sunlight to set her on fire. She blinked to herself. Buffy Summers, referring to sunlight as _horrible_? Dear god, this must be a big problem. She mentally scolded herself again. Of _course_ it was a big problem, she was trapped inside an insane vampire's body. Buffy shuddered- she couldn't think of a worse prison than this one.

Stumbling out of the cave, Buffy ran to where she remembered a road had been. Hopefully those men who had been chasing her had given up and went back to where they had been. Why had they been chasing her, anyway? Buffy squinted and tried to remember- the blow to the head wasn't pretty, and things from last night had been pretty groggy.

He'd said something along the lines of…you killed them. What? Buffy hadn't killed _anybody_! She couldn't ha- crap. Maybe Buffy didn't, but Buffy didn't look like Buffy- she looked like Drusilla, who more than likely had run around on a murdering spree, killing half the village without a care.

She came to the dirt road and ran in the direction away from the village. She ran towards where that young couple had mentioned there'd be a bigger city. _Maybe one with electricity and running water, _Buffy couldn't help but think as she ran down the road. She kept her mind carefully blank after that, only looking at the road before her as she ran as fast as she could. In Drusilla's body, she apparently had vampire speed- she guessed that it was her own mind that had allowed her to keep pace with the two young people the night before.

Hours later, though Buffy had lost track of how many, she neared the top of a particularly high hill. Looking down at the valley below, she felt an enormous relief. The hum of lights and city noises pierced through the misty clouds around her, and she grinned. She could call Giles, and go home, and Willow could help her reverse whatever had happened!

So ecstatic was she before running down the hill to the city, she didn't even notice the shadowy figure watching from behind the trees.


	7. Make the Call

_I'm sorry. That's really all I can say at this point. I can't believe it's been almost a month- a month!- since I've updated. The truth is, I have just not been having the best time lately. I've been sick on and off, loaded with tons of homework, had two viruses that shut down my computers, and some pretty lame family issues. I really haven't been feeling like writing, and so...well, I just haven't. But I decided that I'd update this story, since I was able to at least pound this chapter out. I apologize for any mistakes, as I said before, I have no beta and sometimes I just _can't _go through and correct everything. Don't expect another update too soon, but I promise I _will_ be updating again, hopefully within the next week or two! Sorry this chapter is so short...love ya! :)_

_Thanks to: Aurico423 for requesting this fic and dealing with my lousy updating. You're the best! Thanks also to hannahncakes, iamalice, and waddiwasiwitch for reviewing. Sorry I suck so much, you guys! Hope you like this next chapter. _

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Running down the steep hill into the unknown city, Buffy felt a wave of relief wash over her. There had to be a telephone somewhere near, and she could call Giles and go home. Slowing her pace, she walked slowly down the street, trying to find a call booth. She stopped abruptly; she didn't have any money to pay for the call! Drusilla's dress had no pockets, and she didn't even know how much currency it would take for a three-minute session.

Sighing heavily, she peered through windows, trying to find a phone she could sneak a call on. Finally coming to some kind of hotel, she opened the front door. Taking in the lobby with enhanced reaction time, she noted the one employee looking down at his notebook and a distinct lack of customers. Running over to the front desk, she held a finger to a pressure point on the man's neck before he could look up. Face hitting the table, he was out cold in a matter of seconds.

Flitting around the side of the desk, Buffy grabbed the telephone receiver and dialed the number she knew by heart.

"Hullo?" a groggy voice said, coming in slightly fuzzily over the phone.

"Giles!" Buffy said, and winced. She sounded like Drusilla, which she should have thought about.

"Who is this?" Giles asked warily. He didn't give this number out to many people, he'd just woken up, and Buffy was still missing…he wasn't the happiest of campers.

"It's Buffy." Buffy blurted out. "Listen, I know it doesn't sound like me, but it is! After Willow did that spell, I was sort of being squeezed through a tunnel- and now I'm trapped in this body! And I'm in Romania! I need to come home, Giles! Help me."

"You…you said you're in Romania?" Giles asked. No one but he, Buffy, and the others in the study knew about the spell. This must be her.

"Yes! I was in some little city about…sixty miles, I think, east of…Iasi. At the base of those big mountains. I ran for hours, and now I'm in some big city. Giles, help me! I'm trapped in-" Buffy said in a rush, before being cut off.

"Buffy?" Giles asked. He got frantic when there was no response. "Buffy? Buffy, I'm sending help! Don't worry!"

Hanging up the phone, his fingers shook as he dialed in a new number. He was a hundred percent awake now, though he couldn't say the same for Xander and Willow. Holding the phone back up to his ear, he waited with increasing fear as it rang once, twice, three times.

-_click_-

"Hello, Wolfram and Hart, Angel's office. How may I help you?" a bubbly voice rang out.

"Harmony, I need to speak with Angel right now! It's extremely important!" Giles said quickly. "Just tell him Buffy's in trouble!"

"Again?" Harmony asked irritably, but she transferred the call, passing the message on to Angel. Inside, she heard a huge crash. Sighing, she called up the furniture company she kept on speed-dial, ordering a new coffee table. After a moment, Angel picked up the phone.

"How can I help?" he asked tersely, the receiver almost cracking under his strength.

"Something went wrong with one of Willow's spells." Giles informed him, going as fast as he could while still being coherent. "Long story short, Buffy's been trapped in…something. She said something about a body? She caled me and told me she was in Romania, asking for help. She gave me some vague directions. I would appreciate it if you could go and look for her. I need to keep an eye on this demon situation, as much as it pains me."

"I'm on my way." Angel replied, about to hang up the phone.

"Wait! She's said she woke up about sixty miles east of Iasi, and she ran from where she was for hours. She was in some big city before she got cut off." Giles supplied. "Angel, find her, please. She didn't sound like herself, but I couldn't quite place the voice."

"Noted." Angel bit before slamming the phone down.

Grabbing his coat, he punched his way through his doors, heading to where Wolfram & Hart kept their private jet. Ignoring Harmony's questions, he rushed out of his office area. Catching a snip of black leather in the corner of his eye, he slowed.

"Spike, what are you doing?" he asked, annoyed.

"I'm following you, obviously. I know that look, it means Buffy's in trouble." the perioxided vampire replied, pointing at Angel. "And I'm _not_ leaving her if she's in danger."

"Whatever." his grand-sire sighed, the two of them finally reaching the landing strip. He knew not to talk to Spike about anything Buffy-related. "Thank god I know how to fly."

Checking he had enough fuel, and grabbing a map of the eastern hemisphere, he hopped into the small plane's cockpit.

"Where to?" Spike asked, grabbing the map and hopping into the co-pilot's seat.

"Romania." Angel said with determination, mouth set into a thin line.

Miles away, a far more sinister voice uttered the same word.

"Romania?" the male voice rang out. Buffy struggled against the hand that was clapped over her mouth and the arm around her waist. The man, who she couldn't get a good look at, had taken them both into the shadow of an alley outside. "You're far too predictable, Dru. You really ought to change up your routine."

"Mmph!" Buffy mumbled in response. She heard a wry chuckle.

"Of course, this actually works out to my advantage…" the man said sinisterly. "See, I need a member of the Aurelian line. With Angel and Spike over in the belly of the beast in Los Angeles, and the Master and Darla nothing but ashes in the wind…it really only leaves you."

At this point, he took his hand off Buffy's mouth and spun her around to face him.

"What do you need me for?" Buffy spat. Then she ran over his words. Her voice faltered slightly. "Spike?"

"I see you got a new accent whilst enjoying your stay in Sunnyhell. Pity, I quite liked your Cockney one." he said, grinning. Most girls might have viewed his face as handsome, he certainly had good features. Between his green eyes, dark lashes, and fine brown hair, he was surely a lady killer. Unfortunately, Buffy was beginning to hope that wasn't literally the case. He continued on his rant. "Did you not know about little Spikey? Big hero, died for his love- not you, by the way- and somehow got sucked up into this mystical amulet. Next thing you know, he's shipped over to Wolfram and Hart like a Fed-Ex package. Comes back to life…never bothers to call."

"You're lying." was all Buffy could muster. The man threw back his head and laughed.

"Why would I do that?" he asked jovially. "There's no point in making up stories. I'm going to kill you either way, Drusilla. You might as well know the truth."

"Who are you?" she replied, glaring at the man and wishing he would burst into flames.

"Oh, but baby…I was hoping you'd remember our little tryst. Since Darla's gone, you and I are the only ones who know about that sweet event- aside from Angel and Spike, of course." replied the man, smirking evilly. "I didn't think anyone could so easily forget me, the Immortal."


	8. Hostage

_No excuses. I have no excuses. Sorry this chapter is omygod three (?) months late. Erm...probably no one even reads this anymore, but thanks very much to Aurico234 for requesting, and hannahncakes, Loslote, and Terapsina for reviewing. :)_

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"The…Immortal?" Buffy gasped slightly. She'd heard of him of course, everyone 'in the know' had at some point.

"The one and only!" he replied, flashing her a grin so bright she could practically hear that little toothpaste-commercial 'ding'. His face suddenly twisted up into a dark expression. "And you're coming with _me_."

"Why?" Buffy asked in a strangled voice. She tried wriggling away, but the Immortal was having none of it, putting her hands behind her back and bringing some rope out of nowhere.

"Because, sweetie." he said in a sugary voice while tying knots around Buffy's wrists. "_You're_ gonna be my sacrifice to open the Dark Gate. I need Aurelian blood to open the portal, and as I just told you a minute ago, you're the only one easy to get to, not to mention alive. Well, as alive as a vampire can be, anyway."

"You bastard." was all Buffy could muster. No quips, no funny comebacks before a decapitation or swift stake to the heart. Because the Immortal was, you know, _Immortal_. Un-killable. Alive forever. Hope was always lost as soon as you were pitted against him in anything.

Not that she didn't struggle- she did. It's just, it's kind of hard to deal with ropes around your wrists and an Immortal super-being clenching your body so you'll hold still.

Picking her up swiftly in what could have been a romantic move seen other where, he walked outside and out the city at a leisurely pace. Picking up his pace as they came to the hill that Buffy had run down with relief earlier, he ran up it at a speed that would render him nothing but a blur to human eyes. At the top of the hill, hidden behind some trees, lay a svelte black sports car, practically melting into the night.

Tossing her haphazardly in the passenger's seat, he locked the door and got in on the other side. As Buffy heard the spark of ignition, she groaned and sank into the leather seat, resolute in the fact that Giles would help her…or else she was as good as dead.

That very same Giles was indeed fretting, hoping his call for help would work. This was a favor-chain, and a very precarious one at that. Nevertheless, it was the only way Buffy could be saved. Xander and Willow had woken up a few minutes after the call, and were shocked to find a slightly blubbering Giles pacing around the study so fast that there was already wear marks on the carpet.

"Giles?" Willow asked cautiously. At the sound of her voice, he turned around.

"Buffy called." he said without any prompting, a fistful of hair in his hand. Her eyes widened with relief. Giles shook his head and sighed. "She's in trouble. She said she was trapped somewhere, and she told me her location. I sent Angel out to help her."

"She- trapped?" Willow asked, wary. "Like, bound? As in, the spell?"

"Duh." Xander chimed in. "She must be bound somewhere, so when Angel comes to rescue her, she'll still be there."

"Explain, Xander, how she got to a phone then." Giles replied wearily. "I just hope Angel gets her with no trouble and we can figure out how to undo whatever is trapping her. At least she didn't sound terrified, just a bit shaken up."

There was a silence, in Giles' house in England. On the jet currently above Romania, there was not.

"I feel like Robin." Spike complained, holding a map and twisting it around before crumpling it into a ball. "And everyone knows _I'm _Batman."

"You're not the one with the jet." Angel rebutted. Spike scoffed.

"You're right. I don't think I have enough of a brooding sense of doom and gloom to be Batman. 'M more…dunno, Spike-ish. There should be a superhero named Spike, donch'a think?"

"Not if he's anything like you." Angel sighed, before turning the plane slightly and descending. "We're going to land in the closest city that has a runway to where Buffy is. I've arranged for a car to be there at the landing strip."

"Aye, aye." Spike said, before getting serious. "I hope she's all right."

Buffy, as it turned out, was currently being very _not_ all right, in a big way. Growling under her breath, she was led by the Immortal out of his fancy car and into a helicopter he had waiting somewhere. It too, was so black that she could barely see it, if not for vampire vision.

"Darling, why don't you remember me? We had such fun in the past!" the Immortal said in a playful way after they'd sat down in the back of the craft. A pilot started the copter and lifted off the ground. "It's impossible for me to believe you don't recall our time together, Drusilla."

Buffy clenched her teeth and folded her arms. She wasn't used to feeling so…helpless. But lately she'd been listless anyway, and being made to look like Drusilla, then being captured for that very reason, had not exactly improved matters.

"Don't you remember what I got you and Darla to do with me?" he whispered, trailing a fingernail up her arm. She held still and tried not to shiver- not out of lust, but out of disgust and fear. "You said not even Angelus or Spikey could get you to agree to a three-way."

"Spike!" Buffy breathed, feeling her eyes prickle slightly. It felt different, Drusilla's eyes being much larger than her own were.

"What, you've gone back to 'loving' him, have you?" he asked, pulling away and making sarcastic air quotes. "What was that whole tryst with the chaos demon, eh? I thought you just wanted to get away from him. He doesn't love you, you know. He still wants that disgustingly Barbie-like Slayer. Even after death and resurrection."

"Really?" Buffy asked, still breathless. She couldn't believe that he was alive and that he'd never thought it worth his time to call. He couldn't possibly love her…right?

"Yes." The Immortal continued, what he thought was cruelly. "I heard through the grapevine that he has had to be stopped from finding her on several occasions. Angelus still loves her too. Poor, poor Drusilla. No one loves _you." _

_Bu_ffy just giggled slightly, leaving the man to look both concerned but detached, as if he had been waiting for her to start acting crazy. Oh, wait…

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**A/N: Just a quick note...I think my writing style has changed a bit since last I posted, I hope it's for the better! Let me know if there was something you didn't like. **


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